Exxon Quits Russian JVs

Exxon Mobil Corp., an American oil major, will exit some joint ventures with Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil company, citing western sanctions first imposed in 2014.The move is an about-face for Exxon, which had opposed the sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Crimea and argued they unfairly penalized US companies while allowing foreign energy rivals to operate in the country, the world’s largest oil producer, Arab News reported. Rosneft said last year that it planned to return to operations at the project in 2019.However, Exxon’s exit from projects will not affect the Sakhalin project off the eastern coast of Russia, Exxon and Rosneft spokesmen said. Sakhalin-1 operates under a production sharing agreement struck in the mid-1990s and currently produces around 200,000 barrels of oil per day. Mikhail Leontyev, Rosneft's director for external communications, noted that Exxon had been forced to take what he called a predictable decision but confirmed the move would not affect the Sakhalin-1 joint venture.“It (Exxon) will suffer serious losses as a result of this (decision),” said Leontyev.